Sports Roundup

March 04, 2005

Fly Fishers meeting

Somerset County Fly Fishers will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the Mosholder Insurance Building's community room on West Main Street in Somerset. The club will hold a regular business meeting and guest speaker will be Thurman Korns of the Wells Creek Watershed Association (WCWA).

Korns is the president of the WCWA. His organization has led the way on obtaining funding to construct three passive systems to treat abandoned mine drainage in the Wells Creek watershed which runs from Geiger and Listie through Friedens and Coleman Station to the Stonycreek River. These three treatment systems have allowed trout to be stocked in sections of the watershed which have not had any recognizable trout population since the late 1800's. The WCWA is currently evaluating five additional discharges at two other abandoned mine sites known as the Ritter and the Consolidated No. 115.

Korns will talk about progress the WCWA has made along with plans for the future.

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Members are reminded to bring their equipment and a tied fly for the raffle.

Trout stocking schedules now available

HARRISBURG - Rep. Bob Bastian (R- Somerset) has announced that in-season adult trout stocking schedules are now available from his legislative office.

A total of 600 streams and 123 lakes will be stocked as a part of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's 2005 in-season adult trout stocking program.

For the first time in nearly 30 years, the exact day those waters will be stocked is being announced in most instances. Because of traffic safety concerns, some dates are not being released and the commission is not widely publicizing the exact spots where stocking trucks will stop along stream sections.

While the Fish and Boat Commission has long provided details such as date, time and location of preseason adult trout stocking (those that occur prior to trout season opening), it has limited the information publicized on in-season stockings. Since 1978, the commission practice has been to announce only the week in which waters would be stocked with trout in-season.

Since 1997, the, Fish and Boat Commission has experimented with pilot programs of announced in-season trout stockings at select public lakes and streams. Based on the successes of these programs, the commission has now opted to publicize the day of stocking in most cases.

The Fish and Boat Commission annually stocks streams and lakes throughout the Commonwealth. Trout stocking occurs year-round, beginning with "early season" in January and February to "winter" in November and December. Most trout are stocked within the pre- and in-season programs. Warm/cool water species are stocked throughout the year.